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  • zeedox
    Career Member
    • Aug 10, 2007
    • 695

    New Mego and Target

    Can anyone explain why the Target stores are just so oblivious? I mean these things are exclusive to them even.
    I get so frustrated going and only seeing the obviously discarded leftovers of the first wave.

    If folks are going to request or try some of these obscure properties I think they should put more care into letting
    them sit so discarded. Nobody seems to want Harley Quinn I guess.

    Maybe I am old fashioned (which is why i like the Megos) but I think every Target store should be able to ensure when
    any customer can go in and get the stuff.

    If there are any bumps in the road on the return this is a pivotal factor!
  • LonnieFisher
    Eloquent Member
    • Jan 19, 2008
    • 10814

    #2
    Oblivious to what, exactly?

    Comment

    • PNGwynne
      Master of Fowl Play
      • Jun 5, 2008
      • 19445

      #3
      I don't quite understand your post. Is your concern distribution, display, inventory management, pricing, tidiness?

      In any retail setting, some things will sell and some won't. Stock and availability will vary. At my target, Harley Quinn sold out.
      WANTED: Dick Grayson SI trousers; gray AJ Mustang horse; vintage RC Batman (Bruce Wayne) head; minty Wolfman tights; mint Black Knight sword; minty Launcelot boots; Lion Rock (pale) Dracula & Mummy heads; Lion Rock Franky squared boots; Wayne Foundation blue furniture; Flash Gordon/Ming (10") unbroken holsters; CHiPs gloved arms; POTA T2 tan body; CTVT/vintage Friar Tuck robes, BBP TZ Burgess Meredith glasses.

      Comment

      • LonnieFisher
        Eloquent Member
        • Jan 19, 2008
        • 10814

        #4
        Yeah, I was very confused by the post.

        Comment

        • pickermall
          Member
          • Aug 12, 2018
          • 54

          #5
          I understand what the OP is saying... to me, I feel Target should be realizing that they have the exclusive rights to sell product from a legendary toy company that has returned! They SHOULD be advertising and get the product out on time, etc.

          HOWEVER... what if it was the return of Topper Toy Co? Or maybe the return of some other company? Would we care so much? The REALITY is that Mego is small potatoes compared to Hasbro, Mattel, etc. So in perspective, (in my local Target at least) a prominent endcap in the toy department that is facing the front of the store is HUGE! I feel the return of Mego is a roaring success.

          Yeah, Target isn't doing what we feel what they should be doing, but I'm happy...
          Last edited by pickermall; Sep 24, '18, 8:16 AM. Reason: spelling

          Comment

          • zeedox
            Career Member
            • Aug 10, 2007
            • 695

            #6
            The Second Wave

            Thank Goodness someone understands I didn't feel like getting too involved with this.
            I ride over every day hoping...

            Comment

            • kingkongsy
              New Member
              • Oct 3, 2017
              • 22

              #7
              Target could care LESS regarding Mego or any of the toys in their stores, the only thing they care about is money,money and more money. NO one in their staff know what Megos are nor would care to know, it's just merchandise like anything else, they are NOT there to put up a shrine to Megos. I went there and realized that their endcap to Megos was facing a wall of discounted CRAP which was sad. It was just there in a part of the store that really gets next to no traffic, pretty BAD for this particular toyline.
              I bought my stuff but notice that it had not moved in the few weeks since I last bought something. I hope wave 2 does better but that Paul Stanley figure has me worried

              Comment

              • CrimsonGhost
                Often invisible
                • Jul 18, 2002
                • 3568

                #8
                Originally posted by kingkongsy
                Target could care LESS regarding Mego or any of the toys in their stores, the only thing they care about is money,money and more money. NO one in their staff know what Megos are nor would care to know, it's just merchandise like anything else, they are NOT there to put up a shrine to Megos. I went there and realized that their endcap to Megos was facing a wall of discounted CRAP which was sad. It was just there in a part of the store that really gets next to no traffic, pretty BAD for this particular toyline.
                I bought my stuff but notice that it had not moved in the few weeks since I last bought something. I hope wave 2 does better but that Paul Stanley figure has me worried
                Can you name a store that doesn't care about money? To their credit, Target picked up where TRU ended. They are offering collectors toys, such as Neca and Funko...not just POPs but other Funko figures. They are the catalyst that has Mego existing as a reality at all. Sure, we would all love to see an entire space devoted only to Mego with neon and smoke machines and cool music, but Hasbro would like that treatment too. So would Pepsi. So would Johnson & Johnson. Mego is one product in an ocean of lines at Target. I'm sure they're all treated basically the same.

                I don't expect their staff to know about Mego or Charmin or Heinz or any other brand off the top of their heads, but every employee I've talked to or worked with has been really nice and very helpful.
                Expectation is the death of discovery.

                Comment

                • zeedox
                  Career Member
                  • Aug 10, 2007
                  • 695

                  #9
                  Exclusive?

                  Actually this can grow into another topic does anyone think it won't be exclusive at some point? I guess technically it's not completely exclusive since Joe Namath was on sale at the convention...

                  Comment

                  • MRP
                    Persistent Member
                    • Jul 19, 2016
                    • 2037

                    #10
                    Originally posted by zeedox
                    Actually this can grow into another topic does anyone think it won't be exclusive at some point? I guess technically it's not completely exclusive since Joe Namath was on sale at the convention...
                    The Target exclusivity is only through 2018. This was announced from the beginning.

                    -M
                    "Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding." -Plato

                    Comment

                    • MRP
                      Persistent Member
                      • Jul 19, 2016
                      • 2037

                      #11
                      It was also announced yesterday that the endcaps at Target will run only through the end of September, then the Mego products will be moving into the toy aisles themselves (likely to coincide with the official release date of wave 2 figures on Sept. 30th).

                      -M
                      "Opinion is the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding." -Plato

                      Comment

                      • mego
                        Veteran Member
                        • Sep 16, 2012
                        • 429

                        #12
                        Target is a great store and they're the retailer that brought Mego back into stores nationwide.
                        They didn't run over your dog.

                        Comment

                        • MIB41
                          Eloquent Member
                          • Sep 25, 2005
                          • 15631

                          #13
                          It can never be said that fans of the Mego brand (or format) are not passionate hobbyists. For people like me seeing the WGSH for first time in solid boxes when I was eight years old equates to what an earlier generation thought of seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It was a transformational moment because I had never seen anything like it. So it fits into that often asked question of, "Where were you when..." and friendships are bonded from there.

                          But sitting here now in my mid-fifties, I've had ample time to reflect on it's impact with myself, as well as listen to those who share that common love of the hobby. It's fascinating to hear some of the remarks and feelings that people carry for this brand. But when I look back with retrospect, and examine Mego's rise to popularity, it really reached it's peak very quickly and never recovered after Star Wars took over in 1977. And I base allot of that reflection on living through it and wondering why there were no action figures I could relate with after this huge space opera hit the theaters. Seeing the next trendy set of action figures become these tiny inarticulate characters was quite the come down for someone like me who grew up with something more innovative.

                          But it also made me realize that most of what people celebrate happened during that brief run that lasted roughly five years? Sure Mego had some other noted successes, but what people remember and refer to was basically what the company did in that short period of time. Once Star Wars became the flavor of the day, the Mego style action figure was rendered obsolete. It immediately became yesterday. People remember the superheroes primarily because that was what sold the best along with Star Trek and a few others. But by the late 70's that format was out of favor and no longer the industry standard long before Mego closed it's doors.

                          So it took decades before Toy Companies even considered looking at that approach again. And what was interesting is no one wanted to do a figure exactly like Mego did it. Whether it was Toybiz, Hasbro, or even Mattel, none of those companies felt like the toy could be what it was to appeal to a modern mass market. So the Mego world was really built from this underground society of fans who either grew up with it like me, or picked them up second hand and felt the same magic given their obscurity in the marketplace. As a result, I think allot of those conditions have fostered these emotions of being unnoticed, misunderstood, and largely overlooked in an industry that has celebrated nostalgia for a long time with other brands.

                          So now that the Mego name and product have finally reached that mass market again, I think some fans are wanting that recognition they have missed and are upset they're not getting that special treatment they feel is deserved for those years of struggle to be noticed. But like allot of things in my life, I've come to realize that my generation is not what is in vogue anymore. I find myself out of lockstep with many ideas and notions of entertainment that invigorate kids today. This is not my generation. It's not 1972 anymore and Mego is not going to capture lightening in a bottle the same way it did back then when kids like me were starving for what is now a common place toy.

                          So while I understand and appreciate how many feel watching such a long sought after moment relegated to a ordinary shelf with other common place toys, we need to remember this is our generation speaking. And for one brief moment in time Target allowed Mego to shine on it's own with an end cap and a proud sign proclaiming they were back. That's pretty incredible. I'm not going to waste this moment worrying about whether the 18 year-olds manning the electronics or stock department feel it with me. In 1972 it mattered allot to me (and just me) during that moment when I first saw them. I'm going to stick to that premise and not look around to see if anyone else notices. No one else's opinion mattered to me in 1972, it sure doesn't now.
                          Last edited by MIB41; Sep 25, '18, 8:39 PM.

                          Comment

                          • TRDouble
                            Permanent Member
                            • Jul 10, 2012
                            • 2525

                            #14
                            Originally posted by MIB41
                            It can never be said that fans of the Mego brand (or format) are not passionate hobbyists. For people like me seeing the WGSH for first time in solid boxes when I was eight years old equates to what an earlier generation thought of seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan. It was a transformational moment because I had never seen anything like it. So it fits into that often asked question of, "Where were you when..." and friendships are bonded from there.

                            But sitting here now in my mid-fifties, I've had ample time to reflect on it's impact with myself, as well as listen to those who share that common love of the hobby. It's fascinating to hear some of the remarks and feelings that people carry for this brand. But when I look back with retrospect, and examine Mego's rise to popularity, it really reached it's peak very quickly and never recovered after Star Wars took over in 1977. And I base allot of that reflection on living through it and wondering why there were no action figures I could relate with after this huge space opera hit the theaters. Seeing the next trendy set of action figures become these tiny inarticulate characters was quite the come down for someone like me who grew up with something more innovative.

                            But it also made me realize that most of what people celebrate happened during that brief run that lasted roughly five years? Sure Mego had some other noted successes, but what people remember and refer to was basically what the company did in that short period of time. Once Star Wars became the flavor of the day, the Mego style action figure was rendered obsolete. It immediately became yesterday. People remember the superheroes primarily because that was what sold the best along with Star Trek and a few others. But by the late 70's that format was out of favor and no longer the industry standard long before Mego closed it's doors.

                            So it took decades before Toy Companies even considered looking at that approach again. And what was interesting is no one wanted to do a figure exactly like Mego did it. Whether it was Toybiz, Hasbro, or even Mattel, none of those companies felt like the toy could be what it was to appeal to a modern mass market. So the Mego world was really built from this underground society of fans who either grew up with it like me, or picked them up second hand and felt the same magic given their obscurity in the marketplace. As a result, I think allot of those conditions have fostered these emotions of being unnoticed, misunderstood, and largely overlooked in an industry that has celebrated nostalgia for a long time with other brands.

                            So now that the Mego name and product have finally reached that mass market again, I think some fans are wanting that recognition they have missed and are upset they're not getting that special treatment they feel is deserved for those years of struggle to be noticed. But like allot of things in my life, I've come to realize that my generation is not what is in vogue anymore. I find myself out of lockstep with many ideas and notions of entertainment that invigorate kids today. This is not my generation. It's not 1972 anymore and Mego is not going to capture lightening in a bottle the same way it did back then when kids like me were starving for what is now a common place toy.

                            So while I understand and appreciate how many feel watching such a long sought after moment relegated to a ordinary shelf with other common place toys, we need to remember this is our generation speaking. And for one brief moment in time Target allowed Mego to shine on it's own with an end cap and a proud sign proclaiming they were back. That's pretty incredible. I'm not going to waste this moment worrying about whether the 18 year-olds manning the electronics or stock department feel it with me. In 1972 it mattered allot to me (and just me) during that moment when I first saw them. I'm going to stick to that premise and not look around to see if anyone else notices. No one else's opinion mattered to me in 1972, it sure doesn't now.
                            I think this says it for A LOT of us here. The majority of it certainly resonated with me. I did pick up on a few Super Powers, Marvel Secret Wars and especially G.I. Joe:RAH, but nothing really felt right with these small, half-sized toys after growing up with Mego 8" figures and my interest waned. I picked up a few toys throughout the 90s just to see if they were any good... and they weren't. Not until 1999, when I discovered the Hasbro 9" Silver Age Batman did my interest in toys pick up again. And it still took until the 2010s for the real 8" Mego style to make a return to the marketplace, even if it was mostly through online sales. Even though most of the licenses are not my cup of tea, it's really cool to see these real Mego branded figures hanging in a major big box retail store like Target.

                            As my toy collecting in general is more about getting rid of stuff than building the collection, I'm just enjoying the ride of my all-time favorite style of action figure.

                            Comment

                            • zeedox
                              Career Member
                              • Aug 10, 2007
                              • 695

                              #15
                              What's the deal anyhow?

                              Ok so I go into Target again, and then not even on the Megs end cap I found Samantha from Bewitched, Jo from Facts of like and Cliff from Cheers. I would defiantly say that because of the lack of Target helping me figure out how to spend my money, I will skip all those properties and just get the usual Frankenstein Spock etc when they show up.

                              If they made it easier for me, I certainly would have gotten the Bewitched at least. So I will go on to say at least in my case the confusion has made me decide to skip the wackier licenses showing up. Surely someone must see the oddness of a Mego fan seeing and wanting new Megos, and leaving empty handed....

                              Comment

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